International climate change conference in Bonn has barely begun, but Australia has already been crowned ‘fossil of the day’

International climate change conference in Bonn has barely begun, but Australia has already been crowned ‘fossil of the day’

Ahead of his visit to Bonn, Germany, for the UNFCCC climate change conference, Greens spokesperson for climate change and energy Adam Bandt MP provides the following comment on Australia being awarded the ‘Fossil of the Day’ award for its addiction to coal:

“With this government’s record on climate change and their unrelenting support for the giant Adani mine, they’d probably welcome this award as a badge of honour.

“Australia must not be a dead weight in the continuing talks on how to implement the Paris Agreement. As the world’s largest coal exporter and one of the world’s largest polluters, successive governments have a history of trying to cook the books, such as the infamous ‘Australia clause’ in the Kyoto Protocol.

“The world should be looking to Australia as a climate leader, not laggard. We should be striving to help our neighbours in the Pacific deal with the devastating impacts of climate change, not make them worse.

We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri as the Traditional Owners of this country, pay tribute to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and give respect to the Elders past, present and emerging.